The fate of the middle classes

the long version

George Orwell reviews this book for the New English weekly 30 April, 1936 - see Essays (Everymans Library pp 39-40) Orwell's main criticiism is that Brown examines class in terms of money although as Orwells observes an Army officer with £600 a year would die rather than admit a grocer of the same income to be his equal. However, he states that for the rest, it isan interesting book written in a lively if slapdash style and finishes the review by claiming it to contain a masterly account of the change-over from the indutrial capitalism to finance capital.